HAVE you ever wondered why Mother Nature disguises her most exotic and medicinal tropical fruits inside the ugliest of outer casings? Is it a defence mechanism to scare away predators and deter them from eating their delicious inner fruit? If it is, then its armour of prickly skin, horns, scales or alluring colour seems to have worked best on humans because unless you’re a curious foodie, you’ve probably walked or run straight past these ugly fruits at the markets.
Nature’s disguise
It’s funny how our eyes are attracted to prettier fruits with smooth shining skins like pawpaw, watermelon and mango. Even the prickly pineapple gets a better reception than its uglier fruit cousins. But nature has a delectable way of disguising its most potent superfoods, and as interest in natural health remedies grows around the world, awareness of exotic fruits is also on the rise. Superfoods are nature’s medicine foods; designed to help all living creatures to eat their way to optimal health, and one such fruit has begun making a regular appearance at Fiji’s outdoor markets — soursop.
Despite its wart-like green skin, soursop has gotten a lot of attention over the past few years following research that indicates it could be an effective treatment of some cancers. There is no definitive proof or human trials to back up this claim but it does contain high amounts of vitamins, antioxidants and phytochemicals that has endeared itself to indigenous medicine wherever it is found in the world.
Soursop is called guanábana in Spanish, and graviola in Portuguese. In Cambodia it’s prickly custard apple, in Thailand it’s Brazilian pawpaw, and in the US and here in Fiji it’s soursop fruit.
Finger-licking good
Whatever you call it, this strange-looking fruit is finger-licking good and offers an impressive range of health benefits. Native to Mexico and Central and South America (and also the island of Cuba), soursop has been used in indigenous cultures as a medicinal food for centuries. It’s fruit, leaves and tree bark are known to alleviate fevers, stomachaches, high blood pressure and parasites like lice.
Not a believer?
Stop by the roadside drink stalls of other tropical destinations like Trinidad, Maui, Panama, Sri Lanka or Bali and chances are you’ll find soursop on sale with the same message of health and longevity.
On the outside, soursop looks like a cousin-brother of another spiny green fruit, the custard apple. On the inside it’s white, soft and fleshy with a smattering of smooth, black seeds.
When it’s just the right amount of ripeness the soursop tastes like an explosion of sweet followed by a delectable sour tang. While soursop can be relatively easy to grow, the size of the fruit and speed at which it ripens when picked bring a lot of challenges for commercial sales of the fruit which is why you never seem to see plenty of them at the market.
Once soursop ripens, it lasts about 24 hours before it basically turns to mush unless it’s refrigerated, making it difficult to transport if you pick the fruit too late. This is why soursop is a rare treat, unless you are lucky enough to have a soursop tree in your own yard.
If you’ve never been game to try soursop, I can only describe it as tropical deliciousness itself!
It’s an explosion
The flavour is a combination of citrus with pineapple and strawberry, with a touch of creamy flavour of coconut. It’s quite juicy, with a bit of a tangy explosion when you eat it with an unmistakable creamy aftertaste which is why it is so popular turned into sorbets and ice creams.
It’s a beautiful fruit that lends itself to cooking as well as eaten raw. They make great jams and candy but it is soursop’s blend of tropical fruit notes that make it perfect in the bar.
Cooling and invigorating, soursoup juice is the most popular way to enjoy this superfruit. Extracting the pulp can be messy and is best done in a bowl to remove the seeds, after which it is strained with coconut milk, coconut water, condensed milk or plain rainwater, and served with crushed ice and a dash of lime.
Soursop coconut sorbet is one of my favourite ways to make the most of this rare fruit as you can store it in the freezer for months. The only problem is that it never lasts that long as once friends learn I churned the creamy soursop with fresh coconut milk, wild vanilla bean, and ripened pineapple, my small tub doesn’t make it to the end of the week.
But forget about juices, shakes, cocktails and sorbet. Have you ever tried soursop sherbet? This gorgeously scented, lush dessert radiates the tropics! As the sherbet melts on the tongue, it releases notes of exotic fruits and flowers — an explosion of tropical deliciousness in the mouth.
* Lance Seeto is culinary ambassador for Fiji Airways and the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Tourism, and television host of “Taste of Paradise”.
